Hinge guard



June 16, 1953 N, E. PEELER 2,641,792

` HINGE GUARD Filed Jan. 17, 1950 INVENTOR. 27 `29 NOBLE E. PEELER A TTORNEYS 'Patented June l16, 1953 UNITEDA PATENT AoFFIcr: K. Q 2,.-,6413'92 y 11i-NGE GUARD Y Natie Egrelergsafraui, when.. .y Application January l'l, 1950; Serial'No. 138,966` j i nMy:invention relateswtoga `hinge `gua-rd.

A .primary object of theinvention is to provide a :guard for the hinges Ordners, the-use of. which will .prevent kinjury to fingen-sand hands, as well as other objects which rsonletinies .are crushed when inserted in door ,jambs v l A `further object is `to provide a hinge .guard of"thexaboveementioned character which will also functionas.aisnubberrior istop to limit vthe swinging movement-of a'door. Y

' Ariurth'er object is .to'providea hingeguard ofv theiabove-mentioned :character formed .of rubber l hinge leaves I4 secured flush with theinner verti or similar material, and havingra :novel shape or contour :in transverse icross-s`ection, such contour resulting in a Anovel mode of operation or movement of the: hingeguard 'when .the door with which it isassociated is openedandc'losed.

A further object ofthe invention .is ito provide a'hinge guardof the above-mentioned character which is resilient :and .somewhat vexible, vso that it will lie substantially flat. .against the door to which it is applied, when such door isclosed.

A still :further vobject is toprovideafhinge guard of the above-mentioned'character whichiscapable of a Wide variety of. applications, and which,

may beformed to lolendeincolor andshapexwith adjacent door frames, fdecorative moldings and thelike. ,1.

Y-dil-'fuitlfieii objectief thelinvention is to'lpro'v'ide a hinge guardfor useuponafwide variety'o'f vhinge joints, the guard :beinglhighlyisimplied, com`l pact,extremely1sturdy and vdurable and relatively xpensive'toimake. 1 l v 1 fDther objectsfandladvantages yof theiinvention willrsbeapparentf'tduring thecourse 4of the'ol'- idwing description. l

' .Inltheiabcompanying drawing :forming :apart ofathisA application, and inwhich likesnumerals are .employed to designate llike v.parts:throughout the-same 1 f l Y.

lEigur-e i :is .a fragmentary "perspective View of. a-shoi-Yt section-cra'hingelguard and door snubber embodying the invention; Y l v-liigure 12 isla "fragmentaryhorizontal `sectional view through a door and door jamb, illustrating tlieapplication of, A as well asl the .Imode of -operation-idf the!hingelguard;l g

f ig'ire isla -fragmentaryiside elevational View,

partly diagrammatic and drawn on a reduced scale, for further illustrating the-application of the hinge-guard to a door;and

cal edge I5 of the door Wand with the jamb Iff' of the door frame I Asshown clearly in Figure 2, the Vdoor I2- is swingable upon the lhingesI3 from the open positionshown in full lines, where in the door may be substantially parallel with the outer side of the wall II, to the closed position shownin dotted lines, wherein the door extends at right angles'tothe jamb IS and the edge kI5 of the door overlaps the jamb I6 with the hinge leaves folded upon each other inV the usual manner. As ,previously stated, two principal purposes of the hinge .guardembodyng the invention are tojlimit Vor snub the swinging move ment of the door 42, and to lprevent theinserf tion of the Alingers orthe like betweenvthe. jamb I6 and 4edge I5 of the door when the door is bei-ng diagrammatic, illustratingsa fs'light lmodiiicaticm f-#theeonstruction and*application` of the hinge strd; A Y. l. .f c

My hingeguardis designated generally by ythe numeral I'I and comprises an elongated, ycontinuous, unitaryfstrip or bandIS formed of rule-` ber, synthetic rubber or like resilient and soins-Y vwhat flexible material. -Asshown in Figure ,3,

the hinge guard I'I may extend for the entire height of the door vadjacent to the door jamb,

.and,':if desiredthe guard may extend over any chosen portion of the height of the door. As shown in Figure 3, the hinge`v guard Il isprefenably tot" uniform` width. throughout its entire length'.l

InFigure 1,'the hinge. guard I'I is shown in its natural Aor preformed shape :which the guard asu sumes while disconnected from the door anddoor frame jamb. The hingeguardis composed'of a plate-like body orstrip having a portion I8 along one sidei which is flat -or planar and relatively thinland of .uniform thickness. The v'laterally outwardedge of the :portion I8 is graduallyinf-y creasedin cross section 'to'provide an outwardly Haring. longitudinal side portion I9 of `substantially increased thickness with respect to the portion I8. On the outer edge of the-portion I9 is integrally lformed a narrow flange .2G .extending at anacute angle to the portions iii/randje at:tlieoutersdethereo. 'Ihe:.ange.2.-;extends for the entire length of guard il, or for the enis preferably greater than the thickness of thel flange 22 and portion I9. The outer face or side 22 of the flange 2li is ilat, as shown; and a substantially rigid, flat, metal anchoring plate 23 is molded or otherwise permanently mounted within the ilange 2B, as shown.

The laterally inward edge of the portion I8 merges into an arcuate portion 24 which increase in thickness toward the adjacent longitudinal side of the guard. Y As shown in Figure 1, the arcuate portion 24 curves toward Vthe inner side of the guard and is substantially thicker than the section or portion I9 and flange and is accordingly much stiller and less exible than the portion I9 and flange 20, although such portion and foot are Valso much stiffer and less flexible than the relatively thin portion I8 which is highly flexible, yet stiff enough to. assume the normally substantially straight position of Figure 1 when the guard I1 is rfreely disposed or disconnected from any door. The arcuate portion 24, like the rest of the band I8, extends continuously for 'the entire length of the hinge guard, as illustrated in Figure 3. The guard Il is formed on the outeredge of the portion 24with arelatively narrow, thick, lateral flange 25 integrally connected with the portion 274 by a thick fillet 26. As shown in Figure l, the fillet 26 is the thickest portion of the entire guard Il, and this llet is substantially rigid orV stiff, yet possesses some flexibility and resiliency. The ilange 25 extends substantially at right angles to the outermost or thickest portion of the arcuate portion 24, laterally outwardly beyond one side of the arcuate portion 24. The outer side 21 of the flange 25 is flat, as shown, while the opposite side thereof has an irregular contour, forming a longitudinally extendingV hump or bead 28 and an outer somewhat reduced terminal edge 29. The flange 25 is thus somewhat tapered transversely toward the edge 29, Figure l. A' flat, substantially rigid anchoring plate 30 is molded lor otherwise permanently embedded within the flange 25, as shown, and both plates 23 and 30 are generally parallel to the faces 22 and 21,' respectively.' TheV anchoring plates 23 and 30 extend for the entire length of the hinge guard Il.

As best shown in Figure 2, the flange 20 is secured to one side of the door I2 adjacent to the inner edge I5 thereof by means ofv any suitable fasteners 3I which extend through apertures provided in the flange and anchoring plate 23. Any desired number of the fasteners 3| may be provided, and the fasteners are longitudinally spaced equidistantly along the flange 20. The flange 25 is likewise detachably secured to the inner side of the door jamb by means of longitudinally spaced fasteners 32 engaging through apertures formed in the strip 25 and anchoring plate 30. The flat faces 22 and 21 engage against the adjacent side of the door I2 and jamb I6, respectively, as shown. When the hinge guard I'I is thus assembledonto the door and door jamb, it will assume positions different from its vnormallylfree. position of Figure 1, as clearly shown in Figure 2. When the door I2 is opened to its fullest extent, as shown in` full lines in Figure 2, the hinge guard Il will assume a substantially transversely extended and slightly arcuate position adjacent to and spaced laterally from the edge I5 and door jamb I6. Adjacent to the flange 20, the thickened portion I9 will be deformed or .bent into a substantial S-shape, as shown. The thickened section 24 will retain substan- Vtially its normal arcuate shape, although it will be somewhat straightened and bent inwardly toward the adjacent jamb I6. In the position shown in full lines in Figure 2, substantially the entire hinge guard Il is under tension, and the hinges I3 are substantially completely enclosed lbetween the hinge guard and door jamb and edge I5.

When the door I2 is swung to its completely closed position, showny dotted in Figure 2, the central, relatively thin portion of the band I8 will flex forv forming an elongated, narrow loop or roll 33. The arcuate section 24 will become substantially straightened and disposed substantially perpendicular to the jamb I5. The thickened portion I9 will lose its S-shaped configuration shown in full lines in Figure 2, and assume a substantially U-shaped configuration forming a loop or roll 34, shown dotted in Figure 2. This U-shaped loop or roll 34 is quite narrow, as is the roll 33, as previously stated, and the relatively thin, flexible, central portion of the band I8 A"will lie substantially flat adjacent to the inner side of the closed door I2. Suchcentral portion of the band I8 will be arranged substantially perpendicular to the door jamb I6, as shown dotted in Figure 2. The arrangement is such that the entire hinge guard I 'I assumes a folded, compact and narrow position adjacent to the inner side of the closed door I2, and substantially perpendicular to the door jamb I6.

One intermediate position of the door I2 and hinge guard I'I is shown dotted in Figure 2, and the disposition ofthe hinge guard Il in this intermediate position is believed to be obvious and understandable without any further detailed description of it.

By virtue of the preforming and tensioning of the thickened portion I9 and section 24, the hinge guard II is certain to always operate in the same manner and to assume the same positions when the door I2 is disposed in the fully opened, fully closed or intermediate positions. The thickened section ,24, Figure 2, constantly urges the flexible band I8 outwardly or away from the door jamb I6, so that there is never any tendency for the highly flexible, central or intermediate portion of the band I8 to work its way into the space between the door jamb and edge I5 of the door. The thickened portion I9 serves a similar purpose at the opposite side of the guard I1, and serves to constantly maintain rthe band I8 spaced from the door jamb I6.

As is obvious, the width of the hinge guard I'I will determine its effectiveness as a stop or snubber for limiting the opening swinging movement of a door. The relatively thin, central portion of the band I8 can be made in any desired width, and if narrow enough, the opening movement ofthe door may be much more limited than the fully opened position shown in full lines in FigureV 2. in the fully opened position of Figure 2, the door I2 has induced tension into the guard l1, so that the guard will function to snub or retard the opening movement of the door l2 before it reaches the fullyl opened position shown in full lines in Figure 2. In Figure 4, I have shown avmodied form of the invention, wherein a hinge guard I1', similar to the hinge guard I1, is shown partly applied to` a different type of hinge joint, including a swingable door or panel l2' and fixed Wall or panel Il hingedly connected 4by means of'hinges I3'. illustrated in Figure 4, the lhinge guard I1 has generally the same preformed shape as the guard I1, except that the flange 25 is omitted. Instead of the flange 25, the guard I1 is provided with an arcuate, thickened portion 24' corresponding to the portion 24, andthis arcuyate, thickened section 24 has integrally connected therewith a ilange 25 including a flat end or face 21 for engagement against the inner face of the wall Il', as shown.` Other- Wise, the hinge guard I1 is substantially identical with the hinge guard I1 of the rst form of the invention, and the flange 20 of the guard Il' is shown disconnected from the door or In the form of the invention' door and door frame when the automobile door tain trunks, suitcases, crates and the like;

panel I2', to illustrate the normal or unten-V and door snubber may be colored as desired to blend with the coloring of the adjacent door and door frame, and the like, Due to the fact that the hingeguard is formed of rubber or like material, it will Ibe much more durable vand less likely to fray `and wear than the usual ornamental roll or trim." 'When applied to automobile doors, Amy hinge guard will form a highly effective safety device to prevent ngers from being smashed between the inner edge of the It is to be understood that the forms of my invention herewith shown Vand described are to be taken as preferred examples of the same, and that various changes in shape, size and arrangement of parts may ybe resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

I-Iaving thus described the invention, I claim:

In a guard for bridging the space .between a door jarnb and the adjacent edge of a door hinged on the door jamb, a resilient plate elongated in the direction of the length of the door and door jamb, said plate having longitudinal side edge portions, one of said side edge portions comprising a portion'of greater thickness than the intermediate portion of said plate and a rst flange projecting laterally from one side of the plate, said rst flange `being adapted to be engaged with and secured to the door jamb, the other f of said side edge portions comprising a portion of greater thickness than said intermediate portion of said plate and thinner than said rst side edge portion and a second flange projecting laterally from said plate on the said one side ofthe plate, said first flange having an References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 474,633 Glazier May 10, 1892 2,331,512

SinedSChlaig Oct. 12, 1943 

